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Congress aims to stop 90 percent of illegal border crossings

Click on photo to enlarge or download: Rep. Loretta Sanchez,D-Calif.,proposes an amendment to use biometric identification to monitor documented immigrants from their entrance in the country,through airports,ports or borders,until they leave. SFHWire photo by Barbara Corbellini DuarteWASHINGTON – A group of House members wants to ensure border security before discussing comprehensive immigration reform.

“We have seen the promises of border security coupled with immigration reform go unfulfilled in the past,” Rep. Michael McCaul,R-Texas,the committee chair,said. “If Congress again addresses immigration changes without focusing on the root of the problem we will undoubtedly repeat this debate a decade from now.”

Their plan: increase security and measure progress.

“For too long,the emphasis when discussing border security has been on the number of resources thrown at the problem,but this is only part of the equation,” McCaul said. “We cannot continue to rely on measures such as apprehensions to give us a false sense of security.”

The bill would require the Department of Homeland Security to create a plan to stop 90 percent of people who cross the border illegally and reduce traffic of drugs and other contraband. DHS would have between two and five years to reach all the plan’s goals.

DHS would submit reports to Congress on the results of the enforcement of the plan on the borders and ports,including details on drug trafficking and deaths related to border patrol.

Click on photo to enlarge or download: The House Homeland Security Committee discusses a bill to increase border security. Rep. Michael McCaul,R-Texas,the committee chair,left,and Rep. Bennie Thompson,D-Miss,the committee’s senior Democrat,agreed on most proposed amendments to the bill. SFHWire photo by Barbara Corbellini DuarteRep. Loretta Sanchez,D-Calif.,proposed an amendment to use biometric identification to monitor documented immigrants from their entrance in the country,through airports,ports or borders,until they leave.

“Implementation of a biometrics exit component to U.S.-VISIT was a key 9/11 Commission recommendation. None of this has really come into place,” Sanchez said. “In the absence of a biometrics exit capability,we will never be able to truly address the overstay problems of visas.”

The amendment passed 29-0.

While there’s no exact data on how undocumented immigrants enter the country,the most recent study by the Pew Research Hispanic Center done in 2006 estimated that 45 percent of undocumented immigrants entered the U.S. with a legal visa and overstayed after it expired.

“When we talk about border security we are not just focused on the southern border,” Rep. Lou Barletta,R-Pa.,said. “So before we give a false sense of illusion to the American people that by securing the southern border and the northern border that we have secured the borders and we can now move forward with an immigration reform. I caution us,any state that has an international airport,you are a border state.”

Even though attempts to cross the border illegally decreased 50 percent since 2008,committee members said immigration reform will not happen until the American people feel safe.

“I care about this immigration reform. It’s incredible important to our nation,” Sanchez said. “And we are not going to be able to do that until we can satisfy ourselves and the American people that we have our border under control.”

Reach reporter Barbara Corbellini Duarte at barbara.corbelliniduarte@shns.com or 202-326-9866. SHFWire stories are free to any news organization that gives the reporter a byline and credits the SFHWire.

Barbara Corbellini Duarte was born and raised in Brazil. After finishing a technical course in video production in her hometown,Porto Alegre,she moved to Florida and started studying journalism. She is now a senior at Florida International University.

She has worked as a freelance video producer and photographer for more than five years. She worked with FIU Student Media as a reporter,photographer and video producer and was assistant news director and host of the radio show “Pantherwire” and one of the producers for the website.

She started interning with The Miami Herald in the spring of 2013,where she published stories on the front pages of the local,metro,life and national sections. At the same time,she did a four-month field experience program with South Florida public radio,WLRN. She worked on four radio packages about politics,culture and education. She assisted other reporters by collecting audio.

She is the president of the Society of Professional Journalists chapter at Florida International University and serves as chapter liaison to SPJ South Florida.

With SPJ-FIU and the South Florida News Service,she traveled to Washington to cover the 2013 presidential inauguration with five other students. They reported using videos,photos,print stories and social media updates. She also edited a short documentary about the coverage.

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